Skraelings
by Onatawa
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto was a loser. As such, Naruto was placed on the team that even the sensei acknowledged as the "Dead Last Team." The questions are why did they call him a loser, and how did he prove them wrong? Warnings and more info inside, and I own nothing but the plot and some OCs.


"Yo (A Kakashi-sensei style "Yo"), Onatawa here, if you didn't already skip this, then I appreciate you reading this before the story. This is where, I, the author, will leave my author's notes to you; my kind readers. I'm calling you kind simply because even though you could be a total Almond Joy eater, you actually took the time out of your day to read my work; and so I thank you. My notes to you all for this time around would basically be my warnings, pairing information, and maybe a request or two. As for my warnings, this is rated M for a reason, and although this story starts out light and fluffy, there will be blood, violence, torture, and future lemons. Before I get to my pairings, I should let you know that I inserted a few OCs who will have a large role in the story, do not worry though, they are not going to be Gods like some OC's are. One of the OCs will be taken from a friend of mine's original writing and all ownership is claimed by him for all things relating to Knewsat Gomen. My writing will contain several references to the other three in the current "Big Four" series; most will be subtle though so watch out for them if you are well versed in Bleach, One Piece, and Fairy Tail. I also may put in references to some of the many other animes I watched/read; one I'm seriously considering is going to be a mixture of Clannad: After Story, Anohana, and Angel Beats all in one scene. Well anyway, on with the pairings, as much as you may think this will turn out to be a harem with the events taking place, I assure you, it is not. Naruto will end up with a girl, but I'm not going to spoil it by saying who, but I will give you a hint: Sakura can go die in a hole; but don't worry though, there will be little bashing. Just a few more things before the chapter begins so please bear with me. One is that yes, I know my writing isn't that good at all; but that's why I am here on this site, to get reviews and improve. The more you review the more fun the story will be for you to read. Another is that the story won't just be Naruto-centric; it will take the point of view of others as well. The last thing is that seeing as how I don't know Japanese, I'm keeping the Japanese to a minimum. Well enough of me talking, so please, enjoy! Or at least that was what the original authors notes was going to say. I have one quick thing to say that makes all the difference: This story will not be updated until the date posted on my profile. Originally, that was when I would first put up this chapter, but have decided to post this early to see what it's like to have a story on here and see how reviews work and all that stuff. If you look on my profile, you will now see when this story will be continued. Don't worry at all about it, no matter how long it takes, I WILL finish it. Okay, seriously this time, enjoy!" (-)^P

It was a little after midday, but the sun has yet to shine. It was as if the weather itself reflected the mood of the town. The clouds roared in outrage, while the skies wept in mourning. The whole village was somber in remembrance; all the shops closed, for today was October tenth, the fifth anniversary of the Kyuubi attack on the Hidden Leaf Village.

"Tou-san, I hear something outside;" whimpered a small brunette girl of the age of ten. Her eyes were large; and, despite the water building up the the corners, were a deep and warm colour. Her hair was the same dark brown as her eyes; was swept behind her ears to be held in place with her trusty white bandana. Her one-piece dress was the same color, with brown sunflowers with yellow petals decorating the bottom half in varying sizes.

A man in his mid-forties sat up in his bed and turned his weary gaze to the little girl in his bedrooms doorway. "Don't worry Ayame-chan, it's just thunder, nothing is there;" the man replied, when he heard a loud clatter from the alley behind his house.

"See Tou-san, there it is again;" cried Ayame sweetly, before running behind her father's bed. The man, Teuchi, rose quietly from his bed, and cautiously walked out of his room.

"Ayame-chan, stay put, I'll be right back." The old man walked stealthily to his kitchen and grabbed a fillet knife. Pressing the knife against the back of his white t-shirt, he crept to the back door and silently opened it.

"What's out there Tou-san;" asked Ayame, hiding behind her father, while clutching the fabric of her dress, causing Teuchi to jump a bit.

"Ayame, I told you to stay there," said Teuchi while using his free hand to clutch his chest; thanking the Gods he didn't have a heart attack.

"B-But I was scared all by myself Tou-san, I-I didn't want to be a-alone."

Teuchi sighed and replied, "Fine Ayame-chan, but please stay back, I don't want you getting hurt."

"I-Is there something b-bad out there?"

"I'm not sure, Ayame-chan, so please stay back."

Complying with her father's wishes, Ayame took a few steps back; however she was still trying to peek around Teuchi's legs as he opened the door a little more. The wider the door opened, the more of the storm could be heard: the crashing of the thunder, the howling winds, and the hammering of the rain on the buildings. It was near deafening. Lightning struck just outside the village, and the flash of light illuminated the whole alleyway. As Teuchi recoiled from the sudden light, he noticed a person's silhouette in the entrance to the path. It was tall and had long spiky hair; it stood several meters away, out on the street but still visible, its coat blowing in the wind. In one of its hands it held what appeared to be a kunai with three prongs. Again there was a bright flash of light as thunder roared, and just as soon as it came, the silhouette vanished. In its place, Teuchi noticed a young blonde boy covered in mud hiding behind a trash can, shaking, from fear or cold one couldn't tell. He apparently was in the alley for a while; his clothes weren't wet as if he was caught in the storm. His navy shirt had an orange swirl on the front and was clearly oversized. It was partially tucked into the front of his baggy orange shorts. His sandals were standard for anyone training to be a shinobi, but his were covered in mud and dirt stains. _Poor kid, what's he doing out in storm like this? I'd better take him inside._

The boy visibly flinched and his deep blue eyes widened in fear as Teuchi stepped forward, causing him to pause. "It's okay kid, I'm not trying to hurt you. It is awfully cold out here though, do you want to come inside and eat some ramen to warm-up? It's really good, I'm a chef;" Teuchi called out to the boy with a smile, trying to calm him down. The boy slowly stopped retreating behind the dumpster. Teuchi, seeing this thought it was okay to once again try to walk up to the boy. This time the boy didn't flinch, and allowed Teuchi to come closer. In response, Teuchi held his hand out to the boy, who crawled from behind the trash can. Tentatively, the boy put his small hand into Teuchi's, who led him indoors.

"Tou-san, what was- who's that?" Ayame asked, while she hid behind the doorway to the kitchen.

Teuchi replied, while gesturing to the muddy boy trying to hide behind his legs, "Ayame-chan, this is a boy that was out in the storm. Go make us some ramen while I clean him up, okay?" Teuchi then held the knife he was previously hiding out to Ayame, "And please take this with you."

"Yosh," exclaimed Ayame while doing a large fist pump before grabbing the knife and RUNNING into the kitchen behind her. Teuchi shook his head and sighed at his daughter's exuberance while thinking that he was going to have to hold another safety discussion with Ayame before he turned to quivering blond boy behind him.

"Come on, we have to clean you up a little before you can eat;" said Teuchi, while ushering the boy down the hall. After a few minutes the boy was led into the kitchen and his appearance was very much improved. His face was visible now that the mud was washed away; his anxiety all the more noticeable because of it. Teuchi led him around the counter and put him in a chair. Ayame was on the other side standing on a short stool while finishing the ramen, adding its toppings. Once finished she looked up towards her father with pride of her masterpiece and smiled. She then noticed a blond mop of hair poking out from behind the counter. Using her arms, she lifted herself higher and caught a glimpse of the owner of the blond hair.

His hair was spiky, and looked as if it had never touched a comb. His cheeks were tanned, much like the rest of the boy's body; they were also strangely adorned with three identical marks on each cheek. They almost looked like whiskers. The roundness of his face along with his whiskers gave for a very childlike appearance, which was a far cry from what his eyes showed. They were downcast, a deep cerulean color, and inside them you could almost see it move around like water, light streaks of blue slowly swirling around his pupil before gravity pulls them down, but never falling from his eyes. However Ayame only noticed one thing; which caused her to squeal, "Kawaii, he has whiskers;" before climbing over the counter and pinching the boys cheeks, which frightened the whiskered boy a great deal, causing him to squirm. Seeing the boy struggle, Teuchi quickly told Ayame to let go of the boy's cheeks. With a loud sigh of disappointment, Ayame did what she was told and simply let her arms prop herself on the counter, letting both her father and the boy see her pout.

"Sorry about that," apologized Teuchi while smiling and rubbing the back of his head, "My daughter Ayame-chan can get a little too excited sometimes, she didn't mean to scare you like that. So what's your name?" The boy didn't respond, he simply looked down and stared at the counter. "It's alright; it must be scary to be with a bunch of strangers huh? Well don't worry, we won't hurt you, Ayame-chan, give him some ramen;" Teuchi called out to Ayame, then turned back to the shy cerulean eyed boy, "maybe you'll tell us your name after you eat a bit, how does that sound?" Once again, the boy gave no response; even when Ayame placed a rather odorous bowl of ramen in front of him.

After a moment or two of the boy staring down at the steaming bowl of ramen, Ayame grumbled before saying to the boy, "Y'know, you shouldn't be so shy; if a lady makes you food then you always have to eat it;" while nodding her head at the end for the great wisdom she just imparted unto him. Upon hearing this, the boy's eyes flickered upwards to meet Ayame's; but as just as quickly as it happened, he turned his gaze back down to the swirling broth. "What's the matter? It's not bad or anything, look," said Ayame as she picked up some chopsticks and took a bite out of the noodles in the bowl. For some reason this intrigued the boy enough to watch her as she chewed noodles. After seeing her eat the noodles, the boy slowly reached for the chopsticks held in the cup on the counter.

Teuchi's mouth was open and hanging as he was watching the boy take his first bite of ramen. The boy's eyes widened as his lips closed on the noodles, he chewed slowly savoring the flavor, the saltiness of the broth mixing with the odd sweetness of the noodles. It perfectly complemented the chopped leeks which had its flavor drawn out with the egg that was broken into the bowl and poached perfectly by the broth. The chopped pork's flavor exploded over his palette with the slightest chew, and the whole experience was intensified by the slight hint of ginger worked into the ramen by the chef. Even after he swallowed the boy could still taste the ramens flavor, using his tongue to lick his teeth, he gulped down the remaining broth along with the pieces of seaweed and garlic that was between his pearly whites. It was at this point that all the boy could do was stare at the bowl given to him from whom he assumed to be the Gods themselves, but was really just Ayame, while she and Teuchi just stared at the boy expectantly. After a few long moments, the boy picked up the bowl of ramen, and very unceremoniously devoured it before the minute was up.

Teuchi was watching the blond before, now he had his eyes bulging out of his head gawking at a bowl with almost a liter of ramen in it be emptied as if it was poured down the sink. Even after the bowl was empty, the child continued holding the rim of the bowl up to his lips in the air. Whether he was doing this while waiting for the last few drops to fall in his mouth, or whether he was simply thanking whatever deity listening for this gift, was anyone's guess. When he finally put the bowl down, both Teuchi and Ayame were surprised with what they saw. Not only was his face completely void of ramen, but there was actually a smile on his face instead. Teuchi opened his mouth to say something but was beaten to the punch by the now clearly satisfied kid, who let his satisfaction be known to all with a loud belch.

At this, Teuchi just sighed and Ayame giggled as the blond finally spoke up in a happy tone; "Th-Thanks, old man." This caused both father and daughter to stare at him wide eyed when they heard the boy speak for the first time.

After Teuchi's surprise subsided, he managed to respond to the blond; "It's not me who you should thank, it was little Ayame-chan here who made the ramen;" while reaching over and patting her on the head.

"Well, thanks Nee-san;" said the boy, who then starting giving one of the widest smiles that the two had ever seen.

Maybe he got his whiskers from smiling too hard, mused Ayame. Looking at him closely, she noticed his features in detail for the first time. For some reason, seeing the little blond smile like that made her want to smile as well.

"Demon," the boy said suddenly, in his cheerful voice.

Ayame tilted her head to the left staring at the boy, as her dad repeated, "Demon?"

The blond turned to Teuchi and replied with a smile, "M-Me name, is Demon."

"Demon? What kinda name is that?" Ayame asked innocently, not knowing any better.

Demon was about to respond but was interrupted by Teuchi, "Ayame-chan, don't ask questions like that. D-Demon-kun, how would you like to come with me to visit someone?" Teuchi was a little hesitant to call the blond that, but he wanted the boy to come with him to see the Hokage since the rain stopped a few minutes ago. After thinking about what he just learned, Teuchi had a few questions for the Sandaime because if anyone had any information on the boy, it'd be the leader of the village, or at least he'd have access to it. Who was this blond boy? Why did he just call himself Demon? Teuchi had a feeling he knew, thanks to word of mouth; but he had to be sure.

The boy in question, after mulling it over for a moment, responded, "Okay;" after being given such a masterpiece of a meal, the blond was completely ready and willing to do almost anything for the people in front of him. Teuchi left Demon in the care of Ayame while he made himself slightly more presentable to the most powerful person in the Leaf, both physically and politically. After a few minutes, Teuchi returned to the kitchen to see Demon still smiling like a mad man and Ayame giggling at something that he did not observe. Teuchi gathered the children and locked up the house. The group walked outside and Teuchi frowned as he looked up and saw the skies still darkened with grief; the heavens looked ready to cry again at any moment, the Gods' telling the world of their sadness. He held both children by the hand, and hurried them along.

Ayame was humming as she was walking along with her father and Demon. Demon was smiling as he enjoyed the newfound weather in the village, the rain had stopped, and he was now traversing a path to a destination unknown to him with people who he felt were genuinely nice. She playfully hopped over a mud puddle and landed on the over side with both feet before she turned towards Demon and innocently asked, "Hey Demon, how come you were out in the storm? Why didn't you stay home where it's nice and warm?"

The boy thought about it for a second, he looked down with his face scrunching up in thought. The smile on his face soon faded as a drop of liquid hit the ground, followed by more and more. Demon looked up for a second and was about to respond when Teuchi cut him off; "Let's go, we have to hurry before it starts coming down hard." Teuchi looked up to the sky with his wrinkles slightly deepened, blinking each time he felt something land on his face. It had begun to rain again. Still holding the kids' hands he picked up the pace, which forced the children to follow suit. After a minute had gone by, the intensity of the rain had steadily grown at a slow pace. Luckily for them, they made it to their destination before it had started raining in torrents. They were now under the doorway to the Hokage's mansion.

Teuchi took a deep breath and composed himself. Ayame, watching her father; turned her face forward and copied him. Demon, unsure if he should do the same, just stared at the family with a blank expression and tilted his head to the side. After this, Teuchi pushed open one of the doors in the front of the building, and held it open for the children. Ayame and Demon walked under Teuchi's arm and into the building where the three were greeted by the Hokage's secretary. The Hokage's secretary was a black haired woman with glasses and dark eyes. She looked young, in her mid to late twenties, and wore black robes with white underneath. The woman smiled at Teuchi but when she glanced at the small blond next to him, a deep scowl flashed across before her countenance showed nothing, and told no secrets. Teuchi, undeterred by the secretary's contempt of the boy with him, asked the secretary; "Excuse me Miss, but is Hokage-sama available for a meeting right now?"

The secretary "sneaked" another look at the blond before she replied, "I'm sorry, but Hokage-sama is rather-"

"Ah Teuchi-san, what brings you here?" Teuchi looked to his right towards the voice and saw the Hokage himself descending the stairs from his office. The Hokage walked towards the group with his robe on, pipe in his mouth, subtle smile on his face and stood next to his secretary whose face was red from being caught in the middle of a lie. The Hokage took a once over of the group and upon noticing the boy with Teuchi, his expression became serious. The Hokage turned back towards the stairs, and looked over his shoulder and said before walking away, "Nanao-san, I'll be unavailable for the next half hour. Teuchi-san, come with me." Understanding the tone in the Hokage's voice, Teuchi motioned for the children to follow him and the three went after the Hokage up the stairs. Upon reaching the top of the stairs and entering the Hokage's office, the owner of the office locked the door and used a silencing jutsu. He then took a seat behind his desk and gestured the three to do the same. Teuchi chose to stand while Ayame and Demon sat next to each other on the chairs against the wall.

At first there was a moment of silence, but it was quickly broken by Teuchi, who gave a deep bow and said, "Thank you Hokage-sama for seeing us, your-"

"It's quite alright Teuchi-san, but please tell me what brings you here with Naruto-kun."

Taken aback by the Hokage's serious mood, it took Teuchi a second to finally respond, "Naruto? Is that this boy's name? He introduced himself as... something else."

The boy, hearing what they were saying, made an outburst; "I is not Naruto, I is Demon!"

The Hokage sighed and wearily responded to the boy, "We have been over this before, your name is not Demon. Your name is Naruto."

Blondie crossed his arms and once again made his thoughts known, "You is only people who call me Naruto, everybody call me Demon; so I Demon."

"But what if I call you Naruto? Naruto is a much better name than something like Demon." Ayame chose this time to interject, a time quite appropriate I might add.

Teuchi turned towards the boy and smiled before he added, "Yeah, can we call you Naruto? I think Naruto is much better for you."

The boy pondered the question for quite some time, he thought of the people who wished to call him Naruto. They seemed nice, and they gave him food fit for Gods; so maybe he should let them call him Naruto. Finally, the boy spoke; "Okay, you call me Naruto." The boy, happy with the decision he made, smiled brightly upon the people before him.

The Hokage, satisfied that the boy had finally accepted his name, moved on to the next topic he felt should be discussed, "So, Naruto-kun, why were you out in that storm? Why didn't you stay inside the orphanage?"

Before Naruto could answer, Teuchi decided to speak, "Naruto-kun lives in the orphanage? What happened to his parents?"

"Tou-san, what's an orphanage?" piped Ayame.

"An orphanage, Ayame-chan, is where children who don't have family live. Naruto's parents died five years ago; just after his birth," answered the Hokage, before he turned to Teuchi and said, "Five years ago today." Upon hearing this, the expressions on Naruto's and Ayame's face were saddened.

Teuchi's face however, showed realization and concern; "Hokage-sama, does that mean that Naruto is _that_ child?"

"Yes it does, and now that you know this, how do you feel about young Naruto" responded the Hokage, normally he'd forbid mentioning that, but he had a feeling in his gut that Teuchi might be different than most people. The Hokage himself was too busy to really pay any attention to the boy, and as such didn't have a strong attachment to him; however he felt that Teuchi and Ayame just might be willing to be friends with the blond.

Teuchi, in deep thought, took a moment to respond, "Naruto-kun is a pretty good kid, even if his manners need a little touching up;" Teuchi was smiling while thinking of Naruto's loud belch back at his house. He thought of how in the alley, the boy seemed to be just a frightened child, and not a demon. Teuchi also believed that no demon could smile that widely over a bowl of ramen.

After a short chuckle, the Hokage responded, "Yes, it makes me wonder what they teach at the orphanage nowadays, which makes me ask once again; Naruto-kun, why didn't you stay in the orphanage during the storm?"

"Stupid lady say I can't sleep at there any more, she push me out the door and doesn't let me back in!" shouted Naruto, his voice raised from indignation.

That intrigued the old Kage, was Naruto kicked out of the orphanage? It made him wonder what else they had the audacity to do to the child, he'd have to look into what needs of the boy must be met; he at least had time for that. "Well Naruto, I do have a solution for that; but we'll have to find somewhere else for you to stay until then. It should only take a day."

"Hokage-sama, if it is only for a day, I'd be happy to take in Naruto-kun. I'd take him in permanently, but I'm not sure if we could; our house is a little small." Teuchi truly did wish to do more for the boy, he hadn't even known him for long and he can only guess just what type of treatment he must have gone through already. In the past, Teuchi overheard several conversations regarding the "Demon Brat" while running his ramen stand. Hearing about it, and peoples skewed opinions of the child; Teuchi always reserved his judgment until he met for himself the so called demon. After meeting him, he realized that Naruto had been severely mistreated in the past.

Before Teuchi could go any deeper into his thoughts, his musing was interrupted by the Sandaime who had a slight smile; "Thank you Teuchi-san for offering to take care of Naruto-kun; but are you sure that they'd be okay with that?"

Teuchi turned towards the children, "Well Naruto-kun, if Ayame-chan was okay with it, would you want to stay with us for a day?"

"Nee-san is nice; I want stay with Nee-san!"

Ayame was first elated that she could spend a while with her new friend, but then her expression changed to that of consideration; "Well, I guess I would want Naruto-kun to stay, but only if he lets me touch his whiskers."

Naruto, who was about to hug Ayame, quickly stopped before he crossed his arms thinking for a moment before he finally grumbled in defeat, "Fine, Nee-san can touch whiskers." Ayame squealed loudly before glomping Naruto with one hand on each of his cheeks. When the adults saw this, they both chuckled while Teuchi also shook his head. Having settled this, Teuchi said goodbye to the Sandaime, gathered the kids, and left for his home. Luckily for them, while they were speaking to the Hokage, the rain had once again stopped; and it looked like it wouldn't come again for a while.

Once the three had left, the Sandaime released his silencing jutsu and seemingly spoke to no one, "Inu, I want you to find out how the orphanage has been treating Naruto. Then I want you to look for a vacant apartment for him to live in. Bring me all of your findings in a report at 2200 hours sharp, is that clear?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."


End file.
